Ranking Signals

… Last week we published the fifth instalment of our complete guide to Google ranking signals. It concentrated on ‘duplicate content and syndication’ and the practical ways you can ensure your webpages are passing on PageRank and not being ignored by Google. This week we dive into trust signals, paying particular attention to Google’s Page…

… Last week we published the third instalment of our complete guide to Google ranking signals. It concentrated on ‘content freshness’ and the practical ways you can ensure your webpages are recognised by Google as being relevant and up-to-date. This week we continue diving into on-page content factors, with duplicate content and syndication. What…

… As you’re no doubt aware, Google finally rolled out its Google 4.0 algorithm update at the end of last week. Penguin is now part of Google’s core algorithm, penalising websites that use various black-hat link schemes to manipulate search rankings. Other important changes include: Penguin data is refreshed in real time, so any changes…

… that changes often, but isn’t a recent or regularly occurring event. These tend to be searches for frequently updated tech products or car brands. Google will then check for spikes around search volume, whether news publishers and blogs have begun writing about the subject as well as social media mentions. So if your content manages to ride…

…. Why CTR is not a ranking factor, from Google However, many times when Google, and more specifically Gary Illyses, has been questioned on this we have received the response of the opposite. That Google does not use CTR as a ranking factor due to it being a ‘noisy signal’ and something that could be gamed by spammers. See this response from Gary…

…. You can also use areas where they are falling short to your advantage. For example, if they are lacking content for a particular buyer persona, you can optimize this content on your own site to draw in a greater percentage of the customers that fit these criteria. It can also be helpful to look at the highest ranking sites for your big keywords…

… People like fast websites and so does Google. In fact, your website’s speed is a ranking factor in Google search engine results. If your site loads quickly, it’s more likely to appear when people search for your brand. This along with the knowledge that a fast site provides a better user experience (UX), means that a faster website can lead…

… To get better search engine rankings or land on the first page results on Google in 2016, site speed and HTTPS were listed among the ranking factors. Brian Dean of Backlinko conducted an experiment with 1 million Google results to determine which factors help web pages appear on the first SERP and I’ll be discussing two of those ranking factors…

… As of late June, 32.5% of page one Google results now use the https: protocol, according to a new study from Moz. The esteemed Dr Pete published a blog post this week on the data they’ve been tracking in the two year period since Google announced HTTPS was to be a light ranking signal in August 2014. The results are definitely enough to give…

…. The most common backlinks are natural Glen found that natural (i.e. earned) backlinks top the chart, which is as it should be. However, the study also found that many high ranking websites have some very low quality backlinks. They are things like forum pages, blog comments, and non-English Blogspot blogs. They’re not earned, but can be easily created…

… Internal linking is a key SEO tactic, one which allows websites to send clear signals to Google on the relative importance of various pages. It also works from a user experience perspective, helping visitors find pages that are relevant or potentially useful to them. It’s something I place great importance on as an editor, as it’s one part…

… ranking signal,” but if it impacts rank (and I believe it does), then it matters. Further, even if it doesn’t impact rank, you should still care! But don’t take my word for it that Google has the technology. Check out these slides from Google engineer Paul Haahr, who spoke at SMX: Also, AJ Kohn put together a good post about Google click…

…. As cited before, there are many studies showing the value of links, Google continues to stand behind links as a key ranking signal, and SEOs all have first-hand experience with the value of links in ranking. But those all look at the larger picture. It’s near impossible to say definitively how many links, what type of links, and how long after you build…